To help people New Yorkers without health insurance during the COVID-19 outbreak, New York is opening up a special enrollment period.
Open enrollment Affordable Care Act plans officially ended on January 31st. But due to the coronavirus outbreak, New Yorkers will be allowed to sign up for a plan through April 15th. The state is encouraging residents to take advantage of the special enrollment period by signing up through the online insurance exchange or by contacting organizations that help people navigate the system, like the Community Service Society of New York.
"We're seeing a lot of people that recently lost their jobs," said Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at CSSNY. "We're also seeing people that may have thought 'oh, I don't really need coverage this year, so I'm gonna risk it' and now they're thinking 'oh, maybe that wasn't such a great choice.'"
Benjamin said the number of calls her organization has received about signing up for health insurance has tripled in the last few days, as the situation in New York has become more dire and thousands have lost their jobs. But the good news is that people may have different options depending on their financial situation.
"If your spouse is working, for example, so there's some income...you may have to sign up for an Affordable Care Act plan," Benjamin said. "Or if both you and your spouse have no income then you might be eligible for Medicaid."
New Jersey, however, uses the federal exchange, and the federal open enrollment period ended in December. Governor Phil Murphy is calling on the Trump administration to open a special enrollment period.
.@GovMurphy has requested that the federal government open a special enrollment period to give residents who are uninsured or underinsured the opportunity to get quality health coverage amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/hiKkrDKaS0
— NJ DOBI (@NJDOBI) March 15, 2020